 Local sentiment was that the county was relatively neglected and did not get its fair share of state highway funding for close to 40 years.By 1997, the start of construction of the Hampstead Bypass was proposed for three to four years in the future; at that time, most of the engineering phase was complete but most of the highway right-of-way had yet to be purchased.The three-year timeframe was again put forth in 2001.